AKIPRESS.COM - Energy traded Vitol SA increased oil-backed loans to state-controlled companies in Kazakhstan to a maximum of $5 billion, making it one of the biggest traders of oil produced from the country, the Financial Times newspaper reported.

Commodity traders such as Vitol, Glencore and Trafigura have been moving further into the business of providing cash-for-crude loans to oil producers such as Russia, Kazakhstan and Iraqi Kurdistan.

Lending money tied to physical oil exports also helps bank manage loans and has been a trend in energy trading since 2014 when oil prices fell from a peak of $115 per barrel.